Ampoule attachment



United States Patent AMPOULE ATTACHMENT Christian Landsperger and NormanI. Applebaum, Burbank, Calif.

Application July 8, 1955, Serial No. 520,685

2 Claims. (Cl. 128276) This invention relates to closure devices, andmore particularly to an improved closure for an ampoule or similarcontainer whose contents are to be withdrawn by means of a hypodermicsyringe device.

A main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improvedclosure attachment for an ampoule which includes the shank and hubportion of a hypodermic syringe, the ampoule attachment being arrangedto protectively support the needle portion of a device in the ampouleand to prevent contamination thereof, as well as to preventcontamination of the contents of the ampoule.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved closuredevice for an ampoule containing medicine or the like, said closureattachment including the shank portion and hub portion of a hypodermicsyringe and being arranged to support the shank portion of the needle inthe ampoule when the closure attachment is in sealing position on saidampoule but being arranged so that the hub and needle portions may beengaged with a hypodermic syringe when the attachment is removed fromthe ampoule, the attachment being simple in construction, being compactin size, and providing effective protection of the hypodermic needleshank portion thereof as Well as the contents of the ampoule with whichthe attachment is employed against contamination.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following description and claims, and from the accompanyingdrawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a vertical cross sectional view taken through an improvedampoule closure attachment according to the present invention, theattachment shown with the main portion of a hypodermic needle.

Figure 2 is a vertical cross sectional view taken through theattachment, arranged as a closure for a conventional ampoule.

Figure 3 is a horizontal cross sectional view taken on line 33 of Figure2.

Referring to the drawings, 11 generally designates a conventionalhypodermic syringe having a bottom annular skirt member 12 in which isremovably fastened a hub 13 secured on the ends of the hypodermic needleshank 14.

The hub 13 is formed with a reduced cylindrical portion 15 which iscentrally secured in the top Wall 16 of an annular cap member 17 ofsuitable resilient deformable material, such as deformable plasticmaterial. The cap member 17 has the depending cylindrical skirt portion18 which is sealingly engageable over the circular top flange 19 of aconventional rubber stopper 20 employed as a closure for an ampoule 21,as shown in Figure 2.

Since the hub 13 is detachable from the main body of the hypodermicsyringe 11, the needle shank 14 may be engaged centrally through theyieldable rubber ampoule closure 20 in the manner illustrated in Figure2, with the rubber flange 19 sealingly received inside the skirt 18 ofcap 17.

Designated at 22 is a further protective member comprising an annularbody of resilient deformable plastic material, or the like, which isengaged around the top neck 23 of the ampoule 21, said annular member 22being formed with the upstanding peripheral flange 24 which sealinglyreceives the lower portion of the depending skirt 18 of cap member 17,in the manner illustrated in Figure 2, whereby the skirt 18 is clampedagainst the periphery of the circular flange 19 on rubber stopper 20.

Designated at 25 is a further protective cap member of resilientdeformable material, such as plastic or the like, which is engaged overthe flange portion 26 of the hub 13, making relatively close frictionalcontact therewith, whereby the cap member 25 is retained in the positionthereof shown in Figure 2 until manually removed. As shown in Figure 2,the cap member 25 is formed with an internal cavity 27 shaped to receivethe top portion of hub 13 and to substantially seal the top portion ofthe hub 13 by the engagement of the bottom rim of cap member 25 with thetop surface of the top wall 16 of the cap member 17 As will be readilyapparent, when it is desired to use the hypodermic needle, the topprotective cap 25 is removed and the top portion of the hub 13 isengaged in the recessed annular member 12 of the hypodermic syringe,after which the reservoir of the hypodermic syringe 11 is filled fromthe ampoule 21 in the usual manner. The needle shank portion 14 is thenwithdrawn from the rubber stopper 19, whereby the required injection maybe made.

After the injection has been made, the needle shank 14 may be reinsertedin the rubber stopper 19, returning the elements 13 and 14 to theirposition of Figure 2. The main body of the hypodermic syringe 11 is thendetached from the hub 13 and the protective cap 25 is again placed overthe hub.

While a specific embodiment of an ampoule closure attachment has beendisclosed in the foregoing description, it will be understood thatvarious modifications within the spirit of the invention may occur tothose skilled in the art. Therefore it is intended that no limitationsbe placed on the invention except as defined by the scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, an ampoule having a reduced top neck and a closure ofpenetrable material engaged in said top neck, a hypodermic needle havinga shank, a hub secured on one end of said shank, and a reduced portionon said hub, said shank being engaged through said closure, an annularcap member having a depending skirt portion, said cap member beingcentrally secured on said reduced portion and defining a protectivefurther closure and being sealingly engaged over said first-namedclosure, and a further cap member removably secured over said hub andsealingly engaging the top surface of said firstna-med cap member.

2. In combination, an ampoule having a reduced top neck and a closure ofpenetrable material engaged in said top neck, a hypodermic needle havinga shank, a hub secured on one end of said shank, and a reduced portionon said hub, said shank being engaged through said closure, an annularcap member having a depending skirt portion, said cap member beingcentrally secured on said reduced portion and defining a protectivefurther closure and being sealingly engaged over said first-namedclosure, a further cap member removably engaged over said hub andsealingly engaging the top surface of said first-named cap member, andan annular further protective member engaged around said top neck andsealingly receiving said depending skirt portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,289,677 Perelson July 14, 1942 2,326,490 Perelson Aug. 10, 19432,342,215 Perelson Feb. 22, 1944

